Swarm Decentralizes Storage and Bandwidth Through Ethereum

A new distributed storage platform has been announced, called Swarm. What is even more interesting is how this project is a native base layer of the Ethereum web three stack. Additionally, Swarm could also be used as a content distribution service, which opens up exciting opportunities.

Ethereum-Based Swarm Has Been Released

Similar to every project in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, Swarm has one clear objective: creating a decentralised and redundant store of Ethereum’s public record. Or to be more precise, the company wants to focus on storing and distributing Dapp code and data, as well as blockchain data necessary for a wide variety of Ethereum community members.

In the true nature of decentralised and distributed solutions, Swarm allows participants to pool their storage and bandwidth capacities to provide this service. This draws some parallels to what Storj is trying to achieve on the Bitcoin blockchain, as bringing new peer-to-peer storage solutions to consumers and enterprises is an important area worth exploring.

What makes Swarm different from the World Wide Web is how there is no specific server in place when uploading data. This allows the project to offer DDoS-resistant and fault-tolerant solutions, which are also self-sustaining due to a built-in incentive system for all platform users. Trading computer resources for payment will offer a way for users to earn money, as well as decentralise file storage on a global scale.

But there is more, as Swarm has been designed in such a way that it integrates with the devp2p multi-protocol network layer of Ethereum. Additionally, this project uses the Ethereum blockchain for domain name resolution, ensuring content is available at any given time, and service payments. As far as content distribution goes, the Swarm platform wants to serve as a platform that promotes collaborative editing, including reputation and an endorsement system.

There is a dedicated development roadmap for Swarm as well, which includes the release of orange paper series at a later date. As one would come to expect, the network itself will need to undergo thorough testing, which will start on a private net before being released to the public. By the look of things, it will take several more months before this project will be available to the masses as there is still a lot of work left to do.

What are your thoughts on this concept? Will it be a successful take on decentralising storage and bandwidth? Let us know in the comments below!